State Sets Aside 40% of Doses for Underserved Communities
California has instituted new vaccination equity policies in an effort to ensure vaccine doses reach residents in disadvantaged areas by setting aside 40% of available vaccine doses for the state’s hardest-hit communities.
“With more vaccines online and administered, California is now in a position to take steps toward ending this pandemic by keeping our guard up and by vaccinating those Californians most at risk and most exposed,” said Governor Gavin Newsom in a statement. “Vaccinating our most impacted communities, across our state, is the right thing to do and the fastest way to end this pandemic.”
State officials point out that the pandemic has not affected California communities equally. For example, the infection rate for households making less than $40,000 per year is more than double that of households with an income of $120,000. At the same time, California’s wealthiest populations are being vaccinated at nearly twice the rate of the state’s most vulnerable populations.
Local officials note that assisting underserved communities has long been a principal focus for San Bernardino County.
“From the beginning of this pandemic, our County has focused intensively on helping our most severely affected communities, including working to ensure equitable distribution of the vaccines,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “We will continue and even intensify these efforts, including providing vaccinations where they are needed most.”
San Bernardino County has made it a priority to make the vaccines available in hard-hit communities while at the same time encouraging residents to take full advantage of vaccination opportunities. In fact, over 70% of the county’s vaccine distribution sites are located in the 162 identified areas (47 unique zip codes) in the county that make up the bottom 25% of the county (per the HPI Map – California Healthy Places Index).
“In addition to the ‘Our Shot for Hope’ advertising campaign, we’ve established mobile vaccination clinics to give disadvantaged communities better access to the vaccine, and we have targeted much of our communication outreach to increase understanding about the vaccines among our most vulnerable residents,” Hagman said. “We have also partnered with the Inland Empire Concerned African-American Churches (IECAAC) to conduct vaccine clinics at several predominately African American churches in the county.”
With multiple vaccines available and nearly 10 million doses administered statewide, vaccination efforts have contributed to notable improvements in overall disease trends. Case rates, test positivity, transmission rate, hospitalizations and ICU admissions have all declined steadily since the surge late last year. San Bernardino County is among those areas showing widespread improvement and has administered more than 393,000 vaccinations to date.
“We’ve recently seen marked improvements in both our positivity and equity positivity rates, along with significant declines in hospitalizations and ICU admissions,” said County Public Health Director Corwin Porter. “We expect these trends to accelerate as vaccination rates increase and people continue to practice the protective behaviors that reduce transmission of the virus.”
Food and Agriculture Workers Now Eligible for Vaccine
The County will now accept appointments for food and agriculture workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccination shot. This sector includes grocery store workers, restaurant workers, farmworkers, food supply chain workers and others in support functions or adjacent fields. According to the State, 169,202 county residents (7.7% of the county population) are within this sector.
Workers in the food and agricultural industries can visit the vaccination section of the County’s COVID-19 website to see about scheduling an appointment. Eligible persons should also remember that County-run vaccination sites are not the only places to receive a vaccine, so they should check with pharmacies, state-run sites and their own doctor about vaccines.
There is no cost to received the vaccine; however, in addition to a photo ID, please bring proof of employment that verifies you are a worker in the food or agriculture industry, such as a paycheck stub, badge, W-2, or letter from your employer when arriving at your appointment. An image of your pay stub or other evidence of employment on your phone is acceptable. Also, please do not arrive more than 15 minutes prior to your appointment, and plan on the process taking up to an hour.
Food and agriculture industry: eligible worker categories
The food and agriculture industries employ a wide variety of workers, such as those supporting groceries, pharmacies, convenience stores, animal services and other retail stores that sell food or beverage products. A partial list of those eligible during this phase include:
- Workers supporting restaurant carry-out and quick serve food operations, including food preparation, carry-out and delivery food employees
- Food manufacturing employees and their supplier employees, including those employed in food ingredient production and processing
- Farmers, farm and ranch workers, and agribusiness support services
- Employees and firms supporting food, feed, and beverage distribution and ingredients used in these products, including warehouse workers, vendor-managed inventory controllers, and block chain managers
- Workers supporting the sanitation of all food manufacturing processes and operations from wholesale to retail
- Workers supporting the growth and distribution of plants and associated products for home gardens
- Workers in cafeterias used to feed workers, particularly worker populations sheltered against COVID-19
- Workers in animal diagnostic and food testing laboratories
- Government and non-governmental organizations whose workers are essential for food assistance programs
- Employees of companies engaged in the production, storage, transport, and distribution of chemicals, medicines (including cannabis), vaccines, and other substances used by the food and agriculture industry
- Animal agriculture workers to include those employed in veterinary health, and those raising and processing animals for food
- Those engaged in transportation supporting animal agricultural industries
- Employees engaged in the manufacture and maintenance of equipment and other infrastructure necessary to agricultural production and distribution
- Workers at animal care facilities that provide food, shelter, veterinary and/or routine care and other necessities of life for animals
While at your appointment for the first dose, you will receive a vaccination card as well as an appointment for your second dose. For considerably more detailed information on food and agriculture workers now eligible to receive a vaccination, please visit the State’s COVID-19 website.
All Residents Encouraged to Register with State MyTurn System
At some point in March, all vaccine appointments in San Bernardino County will be made using the state’s MyTurn system. County residents should register immediately at https://myturn.ca.gov/ in order to receive alerts about eligibility and appointment opportunities.
Until the formal transition, residents eligible for the vaccine should make appointments at the County and State’s public health sites, hospitals and other vaccination providers (e.g. pharmacies and private practice physicians) by visiting the County’s vaccination website. Everyone is also encouraged to talk to their primary physician for other sources for the vaccine.
As of now, those eligible for vaccinations include all persons over age 65, as well as those working in health care, public safety/emergency services, skilled nursing/assisted living facilities, education, licensed childcare, and food and agriculture.
KNBC-TV News covered the Vaccine Xpress Shuttle in Victorville
Desert Communities Providing Free Transportation Program for COVID-19 Vaccines
Both Victor Valley Transit (VVTA) in the High Desert and the Morongo Basin Transit Authority (MTBA) in the Town of Yucca Valley have launched free transportation programs to help local residents receive COVID-19 vaccinations. Both regions have vaccination sites that save residents the hassle of having to travel far to receive their shot.
Town of Yucca Valley provides door-to-door service for residents
The Town of Yucca Valley in partnership with MTBA is providing transportation at no cost to the rider to and from the resident’s home to the vaccine (or testing) site. The County vaccination site is at Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree and the COVID-19 testing site is at the Joe Davis Community Center in Twentynine Palms.
Before requesting transportation, residents are asked to make an appointment for either COVID-19 testing, or for COVID-19 vaccinations at sbcovid19.com or by calling (909) 387-3911. After booking an appointment, the resident can contact the MTBA at (760) 366-2395 to schedule a pick-up.
“It is simply fantastic to see the Town of Yucca Valley and Morongo Basin Transit Authority providing this service for Yucca Valley residents,” said Third District Supervisor and Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Dawn Rowe. “It shows how much the town prioritizes public health and supports the County’s efforts to provide testing and vaccination services to the community.”
Vaccine Xpress Bus offers free door-to-door shuttle service to vaccine locations in Victorville and Apple Valley
VVTA has partnered with the Town of Apple Valley, City of Victorville, and San Bernardino County to provide a temporary free door-to-door shuttle service called the Vaccine Xpress. This interim route is for individuals 65 and older with vaccine appointments to the Hook Community Center in Victorville or Our Lady of the Desert Catholic Church in the Town of Apple Valley. The Vaccine Xpress is available to all of VVTA's current service areas.
Interested and eligible residents must first book a vaccine appointment with the Hook Community Center or Our Lady of the Desert Catholic Church at www.sbcovid19.com/vaccine/locations or by calling (909) 387-3911. After booking an appointment, residents then contact VVTA at (760) 948-3030 and schedule a ride for the Vaccine Xpress. Participating residents will be picked up and dropped off from their homes to and from their vaccine appointment.
“VVTA has always responded to the needs of its ridership community, so it’s not a surprise to see them step up in this manner,” said First District Supervisor Col. Paul Cook (Ret.). “I encourage everyone to take advantage of the complimentary Vaccine Xpress shuttle and to make every effort to get vaccinated.”
All residents are encouraged to use the Vaccine Xpress shuttle service to ease traffic around vaccine location sites. Vaccine Xpress buses are cleaned and sanitized daily, and face coverings are mandatory on all trips. For more information, visit www.vvta.org.
Update on Inmates and Employees Testing Positive for COVID
A total of 979 County jail inmates have tested positive for COVID-19. Many of the inmates are only experiencing minor symptoms of the virus. The infected inmates are in isolation, being monitored around the clock, and are being provided with medical treatment. A total of 968 inmates have recovered from the illness.
A total of 1,009 department employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and are self-isolating at home; 997 employees have recovered from the virus. Other employees are expected to return to work in the next few weeks. It is unknown when or where the employees were infected with the virus. The department continues to encourage all department members to heed the warnings of health officials.
Latest Stats
287,246 Confirmed Cases (up 0.1% from the previous day)
3,022 Deaths (up 2.1% from the previous day)
2,500,799 Tests (up 0% from the previous day)
For more statistics from the COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, click the desktop or mobile tab on the County’s sbcovid19.com website.
|
